PM at UNGA

. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's address to the UN General Assembly on Friday was wide-ranging, touching upon nearly every major challenge confronting Pakistan's foreign policy, from the troubled relationship with India and the Kashmir dispute to the Indus Waters Treaty and instability in the wider region. Yet the recurring theme was peace, and Pakistan's argument that even the most intractable disputes must eventually find their way back to the negotiating table. It was a message worth delivering. The UN General Assembly offers leaders an opportunity to place their country's position before the world. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did so without ambiguity. The international environment has hardly been hospitable to diplomacy. Conflicts have multiplied, international law has frequently appeared subordinate to power, and institutions established to prevent confrontation have struggled to exercise meaningful influence. Against this backdrop, the PM's insistence that dialogue must retain primacy is both prudent and consistent with Pakistan's own interests. Nowhere is this more relevant than in South Asia. The PM's warning over the IWT was understandably firm: Pakistan cannot be expected to treat lightly any move that threatens a river system on which its agriculture and food security heavily depend. But the more important point was that these concerns were presented alongside an appeal for dialogue rather than as an argument for perpetual confrontation. There is no weakness in defending national interests while seeking peaceful means to secure them. Pakistan must continue to speak firmly where its vital interests are threatened, but it should also remain prepared to engage whenever meaningful diplomacy becomes possible. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's message at the UN was therefore a sound one. The challenge now is to ensure that the preference for dialogue expressed in New York remains the basis of Pakistan's regional diplomacy long after the speeches have ended.